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doug

LIVE: Elon Musk speaks in Norway about Tesla's European plans

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is about to give a talk at the US embassy Tesla store in Norway. We expect he will announce important information about the European launch of the Model S as well as Tesla's European Supercharger plans. The talk begins at 7:30pm CET, 10:30am PST. Watch with us live here and comment below.

Update: The event is now over, but you can watch a recording of it below. Things get started after the 00:25:30 point. Elon said Norway will have the first Model S deliveries in Europe. Also starting with a network of four, he says Norway will have the first superchargers outside North America and, as in the US, will be "free forever."

Elon says in principle it will be possible to swap out battery packs in the Model S with a future better pack. However, Tesla has made specific statements not promising that. You could see GeorgeB getting a bit uncomfortable at that point.

Elon mentioned about swapping pack capacities/energies and that the battery management computer is in the pack. This is exactly how my Ford Ranger EV is. The initial lead acid battery packs and the NiMH packs were diffrent inside, but the interface the the vehicle was the same. The pack just repored back the SOC and controlled the charger etc, where the computer in the battery pack knew about the capacity and chemistry. This sounds like exacty what Tesla is doing with the Model S, in that the pack knows it is a 85KW, 60KW, 40KW etc then reports that to the car as soon as the pack is plugged in. This makes the most sense from a standards, development and manufacturing aspect and leaves maximum flexability for future service, upgrade and technology advancements.